Transport corridors between Europe and Central Asia: The role of the Middle Corridor in the transformation of international economic relations

Abstract

This study aimed to determine how the Middle Corridor influenced the restructuring of international economic relations between Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus after 2022. The research was conducted on the basis of comparative and institutional analysis of official materials, transport statistics, analytical reports, and documents reflecting route dynamics, the transport policies of transit states, and trade interaction with the European Union. The findings demonstrated that after 2022, the Middle Corridor ceased to perform an auxiliary function and acquired the characteristics of an independent multimodal route between Europe and Asia. Trade in goods between the EU and the five Central Asian states reached EUR 54.267 billion in 2024, while the share of the European Union in the region’s total foreign trade amounted to 24.7%. The duration for cargo to travel from China to Europe across the Middle Corridor was around 12-15 days, but a transit through the Suez Canal via sea could take as long as 40-60 days. The Caspian area became the central point in implementing the route; Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan played a leading role in the implementation of the route in infrastructure, tariffs and digitisation. Between January and September 2025, the number of container trains from China to Azerbaijan increased to 296. At the Port of Baku, 6.1 million tonnes and 77 thousand containers were shipped. In Kazakhstan, in 2024, transport of goods along the route increased by 62% and reached 4.5 million tonnes. The results obtained can be used in the work of the ministries of transport of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, port administrations in the Caspian basin, railway transport operators, and companies engaged in transit and logistics activities, as well as the institutions of the European Union in planning investments, coordinating tariff policy, developing digital integration and strengthening the transport system between Europe and Central Asia